Azure & DevOps Podcast

Jason Haley: Azure Services For Artificial Intelligence - Episode 309

Aug 5, 2024

Jason Haley, a Full Stack Solution Architect and Microsoft Azure MVP, dives into the world of Azure services for artificial intelligence. He discusses his career milestones with .NET and Azure, and shares insights about the evolving landscape of Generative AI. Listeners learn about the importance of prompt engineering for language models and explore how businesses can leverage Azure AI services. Jason also addresses the costs of utilizing OpenAI's models and offers practical resources for developers venturing into AI applications.

37:44

Creator website

Episode guests

Jason Haley

AI Summary

Highlights

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The transition from traditional software development to incorporating generative AI requires a careful balance between minimizing risk and maximizing return on investment.

Adopting methodologies like retrieval-augmented generation can significantly enhance generative AI's effectiveness by leveraging external data and effective prompt engineering.

Deep dives

Evolution of Focus in Software Development

The evolution from traditional software development to modern technologies has significantly impacted the direction of custom software solutions. The release of .NET and Azure was pivotal, inspiring many developers, including those in financial sectors, to adapt their practices. Developers often avoid jumping to the latest technologies, seeking tried-and-true frameworks that minimize risk while maximizing return on investment. This cautious approach is particularly relevant when integrating emerging technologies like generative AI, where developers must weigh potential benefits against the cost of implementation.

Leverage Resources for Seamless AI Integration

01:29

Harnessing New Tools Quickly

01:04

Leverage Existing Resources for Quick Success

01:16

Intro

5min

Navigating Career Milestones in Technology

2min

Embracing Generative AI: A Developer's Journey

14min

Navigating .NET Applications with OpenAI: Insights on Prompt Engineering

3min

Navigating Costs and Capabilities of RAG with Azure OpenAI

12min

Quick Implementation Resources for Azure OpenAI and Generative AI

3min

Jason Haley is a Full Stack Solution Architect at Jason Haley Consulting, LLC, where he provides custom Azure and .NET application development solutions for a variety of clients. With over 20 years of experience using Microsoft technologies, he has earned the title of Microsoft Azure MVP and holds numerous certifications.

His expertise lies in developing Web Applications and Single Page Applications (SPA) using Blazor, Angular, jQuery, ASP.Net Core, Entity Framework Core, Redis, SQL Server, and Windows Azure Active Directory. In addition, he customizes build processes for Azure DevOps pipelines and creates courseware for .NET and Azure topics. He is deeply passionate about learning and sharing his knowledge with the local Azure and .NET community, and he leads two user groups in the Boston area.

Topics of Discussion:

[3:40] The two things that have stuck out in Jason’s career.

[5:36] When Jason started paying attention to GenAI.

[9:12] Looking at GenAI from a solution perspective.

[10:52] Where to start as a .NET developer.

[16:49] Why aren’t there more examples in C#?

[18:02] What is Graph RAG?

[19:11] Using language models for natural language processing tasks, including prompt engineering and token limits.

[20:56] The importance of prompt engineering, and how to optimize prompts.

[25:04] Cost and mechanics of using OpenAI's language model in Azure.

[32:12] Using Azure AI services for business problems and thinking about AI as an intern.

[34:48] Recommendations for .NET developers to get started with Azure Open AI and semantic search.